Vehicle recycling plant

ABSTRACT

A vehicle recycling plant wherein scrap vehicles are at least partially disassembled, processed and converted into suitable products. More particularly, the vehicle recycling plant is used for processing automobile bodies and automobile parts wherein the conversion of the vehicle body and vehicle parts into other products can be accomplished utilizing an inexpensive source of fuel and wherein the residual heat produced during the burning process can be effectively utilized to produce a number of functions. The vehicle processing plant makes maximum use of the heat generated during the melting down of the vehicle without measurably contributing to air pollution.

[ 1 Nov. 4, 1975 VEHICLE RECYCLING PLANT [76] Inventor: Paul E.Rhinehart, PO. Box 184,

Mountain Falls Rte., Winchester, Va. 22601 [22] Filed: June 11, 1974[21] Appl. No.: 478,377

Obrzut, J. J Will Steel Buy Scraps New Look, in

The Iron Age, Jan. 12, 1967 p. 57-65.

Primary Exam inerRoy Lake Assistant Examiner-Paul A. Bell Attorney,Agent, or FirmStewart and Kolasch, Ltd.

[57] ABSTRACT A vehicle recycling plant wherein scrap vehicles are atleast partially disassembled, processed and converted into suitableproducts. More particularly, the vehicle recycling plant'is used forprocessing automobile bodies and automobile parts wherein the conversionof the vehicle body and vehicle parts into other products can beaccomplished utilizing an inexpensive source of fuel and wherein theresidual heat produced during the burning process can be effectivelyutilized to produce a number of functions. The vehicle processing plantmakes maximum use of the heat generated during the melting down of thevehicle without measurably contributing to air pollution.

U.S. Patent Nov. 4, 1975' Sheet 1 of 2 3,917,239

ASL;

VEHICLE RECYCLING PLANT I BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Thepresent invention is directed to a vehicle recycling plant wherein scrapvehicles are at least partially disassembled, processed, and convertedinto suitable products More particularly, the present invention isdirected to a vehicle recycling plant for processing, for example,automobile bodies and automobile parts wherein the conversion of thevehicle body and vehicle parts into other products can be accomplishedutilizing an inexpensive source of fuel and wherein the residual heatproduced during the burning process can be effectively utilized toproduce a number of functions. The vehicle processing plant of thepresent invention makes maximum use of the heat generated during themelting down of the vehicle without measurably contributing to airpollution.

Steel mills require high density high grade scrap for use as charges forsteel fumaces in order to produce the requirements of industry.Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult to obtain sufficient quantitiesof high grade steel scrap because the sources of such scrap are heavilycontaminated with materials adversely affecting the physical andchemical characteristics of any steel produced from such scrap.

One of the major sources of low grade scrap steel is discarded or junkedautomobile bodies which have been mechanically densified in variousways. It is, for example, common practice to first dismantle the bodiesby physically removing the doors, trunk lids and engine hoods, and thencut up the remainder of the body and- /or frame to provide relativelylarge panels or sections which may then be mechanically shredded withmangling devices to produce smaller metal fragments. These fragments arethen sometimes processed through a magnetic separating apparatus toroughly sort the ba-- sically ferrous from the nonferrous metals. Theshredded materials, whether separated or not, may then be compressed bypresses or drop hammers into sheets of material which subsequently maybe sliced into strips and then baled. Sometimes the shredded material isbaled directly, and in some cases the large sections are compressed intoa bale without having been first shredded. In any event, all of thesemethods result in relatively low density, highly contaminated scrapmaterial.

A number of processing plants for processing vehicle bodies into scrapor for converting vehicle bodies into reusable steel or high grade pigore are well known in the art. However, the present processing plantssuffer from a number of deficiencies. For example, the source of fuelutilized in said plants is frequently very expensive and furthermore,effective use is not made of the heat produced in the melting furnaces.In addition, because of the current emphasis being places upon theelimination of air pollution, it is essential that vehicle processingplants provide an effective means for removing the various pollutantsgtom the end of the flue disposed downstream of the furnace.

In some cases, attempts to reduce the contaminants by burning of thediscarded automobile bodies "has been attempted, but the results havenot been satisfactory because of the relatively low temperaturesachievable by open dump type burning. Moreover, most communities nowprohibit such burning procedures under the air pollution statutes andordinances. The low grade of scrap which consequently results from theaforedescribed treatments of discarded automobile bodies is not readilysalable so that such old and discarded automobile bodies are not indemand for scrap salvage purposes. As a result, more and morecommunities are finding themselves with large numbers of old abandonedcars accumulating on their streets and roadways, and salvage yards arefinding it more and more difficult to dispose of such car bodies whenthey have been stripped of whatever salable parts were salvageable.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide animproved vehicle recylcing plant wherein an inexpensive source of fuelis utilized for providing the necessary heat for melting down vehiclebodies.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedvehicle recycling plant wherein effective and efficient use is made ofthe heat which is exhausted from the furnace.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a flue which isassociated with said furnace which is effective in converting the heatexhausted from the furnace into usable energy while at the same timesubstantially eliminating particles in the flue so that the exhaust fromthe recycling plant substantially meets pollution standards andrequirements.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide asubstantially continuous vehicle recycling plant wherein effective useis made of all of the various types of metals and other materials whichcan be found in a vehicle which is destined for scrap.

Other objects and further scope of applicability of the presentinvention will become apparent from the detailed description givenhereinafter; it should be understood, however, that the detaileddescription and specific examples, while indicating preferredembodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only,since various changes and modifications within the sprit and scope ofthe invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from thisdetailed description.

Pursuant to the present invention, the above-mentioned disadvantages maybe eliminated and a much improved vehicle recycling plant has beendeveloped wherein scrap vehicles are disassembled and processed toproduce a variety of metal products and wherein effective use is made ofthe energy produced during the recycling process. According to thepresent invention, scrap vehicles are first disassembled and separatedinto their various component parts. First of all, for example, therubber tires are removed from the vehicles. These rubber tires are thenutilized as an inexpensive source of fuel for the furnace and areparticularly effective in that a temperature of about 2,400 F. can beachieved in the furnace in the burning of said tires. Of course, thefurnace is provided with a plurality of burners which are used to startthe combustion in the furnace and in some instances, supplement the heatsource provided in the fumace. The furnace can be of any well I knowndesign but should be sufficiently large to accomodate about 450-500tires at one time. Advantageously, the bottom portion of the furnaceslopes in- 3 furnace. Advantageously, the sloping surfaces of the baseof the furnace can be provided with means for vibrati'ng said surfacesmuch in the manner of a vibrating hamper. This vibration facilitates theremoval of both the ash and the steel beads from the bottom of thefurnace.

The scrap vehicle body is further stripped of other components, such asalternators, radiators, generators, starters, voltage regulators,transmissions, carburetors, glass, and the like, which are processedseparately in a different portion of the recycling plant of the presentinvention. Thus, the vehicle bodies, stripped of all of the abovecomponents are continuously introduced on a conveyor belt positionedabove the top of the furnace for eventual dumping into a cupola wherethe melting down of the vehicle bodies is completed. The vehicle bodiesare conveyed above the furnace so that the radiant heat produced by thefurnace can be used to burn up all of the undesirable materials such aswood, upholstery, carpeting, undercoating and the like, which would tendto contaminate the resulting molten metal product. Also the radiant heatbegins the vehicle melting down process.

Thus, by the time the vehicle reaches the end of the conveyor system fordumping into the cupola, the melting process has substantially begun.The exhaust provided by the furnace is discharged into the cupola in thevicinity of the location where the vehicle body is discharged from theconveyor belt into the cupola so that the heat contained in said exhaustis effectively used to provide a further high temperature environmentfor melting down the vehicle bodies as they are discharged from theconveyor belt into the cupola. The walls of the furnace and cupola areformed from layers of refractory matetial, e.g., refractory brick.

As a supplemental source of heat for the cupola, carbon electrodes aresuspended from above the cupola and are adapted so that they can beraised or lowered so that they can be placed into close proximity withthe surface of the molten steel. Thus, the carbon electrodes can belowered to a position just above the surface of the steel and areutilized to finish off the melt, that is, to convert the scrap vehiclebodies completely into a liquid form. The carbon electrodes generate offcurrent of about 32,000 KVA and increase the temperature in the cupolato about 3,200 F. Not only is this additional heat effective infinishing off the molten steel in the cupola, but it is also effectivein burning the contaminants carried in the flue gas. When a sufiicientlevel of molten steel is achieved, the hot metal is drained from thebottom of the cupola into holding tanks disposed on a conveyor belt.Advantageously, the bottom surface of the cupola container is sloped tofacilitate the transfer of the molten steel to the holding tanks. In theholding tanks, the molten steel separates into a lower steel level andan upper slag level. Thus, the conveyor blet can be utilized to transferthe holding tanks to a rolling mill where the steel in said tanks can bedrawn off and used to manufacture light structural materials, such as,for example, reinforcing bars, fence posts, and the like. The slag whichstill remains in the holding tanks can then be dumped. The holding tankscan then be recycled back to the cupola for another load of moltensteel. Alternatively, the cupola can be periodically tapped to draw offthe molten metal into pig r billet forming molds and the slag isseparately tapped and disposed of in any desired manner, such as, forexample,

as sanitary fill or for aggregate for concrete mixes.

The hot ashes which are being drawn from the furnace and from the zoneabove the molten steel and the cupola are drawn into a substantiallyhorizontal flue. which is made of fire brick and is adapted to accomo-.date a number of devices which make further use of the very hot exhaustgases. For example, the flue is provided with a compartment, e.g., acopper smelter which is completely disposed within and surrounded by theflue gases so that the surfaces of said smelter make maximum use of theheated gases being circulated.

therearound. For example, the alternators, radiators, generators,starters, voltage regulators and any other copper containing elementsfound in the vehicle are introduced into the copper smelter. The heatflowing through the flue is thus utilized to melt said elementsintroduced into the copper smelter. Once the copper 7 elements have beensmelted, the molten product can be removed from the bottom portion ofthe smelter.

Advantageously, the copper smelter can be followed in succession by azinc smelter, a glass smelter and one or more additional smelters, asdesired. These smelters are substantially equivalent to the coppersmelter and 1 are utilized for converting scrap products into usableproducts. For example, the zinc smelter is adapted to receive motors,transmissions and carburetors which are high in zinc content and convertsaid elements to molten zinc which can be eventually used in a varietyof ways. Downstream of the smelters, the flue can be further providedwith a number of heating exchange units which are adapted to convert theremaining heated gas traveling through the flue into a number of uses,such as, for example, converting water to steam to run a generator plantor further utilizing said heated gas through the effective use of steamcoils to function as a sawdust dryer or a grain dryer.

Downstream of the heat exchange units, the hot flue gas must be cooleddown and further cleaned up before it is discharged to the atmosphere.Accordingly, the flue is provided with an enlarged section which fitsaround the end portion of the smaller flue section thereby defining azone between said sections for introducing air therebetween.

In other words, because said enlarged section is larger than theexisting flue, it fits around said flue leaving an open area between theouter circumference of the flue and the inner circumference of theenlarged section for the introduction of air into the system.Furthermore, the enlarged section is provided with a number of air ventswhich are angled in the direction of the flow of the heated flue gas.Thus, the air being introduced axially at the beginning of the enlargedsection,

as well as the air introduced through the air vents,

causes a complete mixture of the cooler ambient air with the hotter flueexhaust gas thereby substantially reducing the overall temperature ofthe exhaust gas. Also, because of the turbulence created by the airintroduced through the air vents, the exhaust gas in said enlargedsection has a substantially unifonn tempera: ture throughout. Downstreamof the air vents, the enlarged section is further provided with aplurality of spray nozzles which are utilized to remove particulatematter and other pollutants from the exhaust gas. The end of the flue isprovided with an exhaust pump which functions to draw the exhaust gasfrom the furnace and through the flue to eventual discharge to the atmosphere. The exhaust pump also draws the cooler ambient air into theenlarged section, of the flue. Also, be-

- cause of the vacuum produced by the pump, the temperature of the gasesproduced in the furnace is naturally increased.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERREDEMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings, the vehicle recycling plantof the present invention comprises a furnace 1 into which scrap tires 2are introduced through opening 3 as a source of fuel therefor. Aconveyor belt 4 can be conveniently used to introduce the tires into thefurnace. The furnace is provided with a plurality of bumers 5 which arenot only utilized to initiate the combustion of the tiresin the furnacebut also function as a supplemental heat source. The fuel utilized tosupply the burners can be any conventional type of fuel known in theart. The bottom of the furnace is provided with sloping surfaces 6containing a plurality of apertures 7 for the removal of ash from thefurnace. The sloping surfaces of the bottom of the furnace not onlyfacilitate the removal of the ash from the system but also the removalof steel beads collected from the burning of steel belted tires, saidsteel beads being removed through a central aperture 8 disposed at theapex of said sloping surfaces. Advantageously, the bottom of the furmcecan be provided with a vibrating means 6, and as such, would function asa vibrating hamper for enhancing the removal of the ash and the steelbeads from the fur-- nace. A container 9 is disposed beneath theaperture 8 for collecting the steel beads recovered from the burnedtires. Of course, the steel recovered from the burning of steel beltedtires can be subsequently processed and used to produce other elements.As stated above, a conveyor belt is provided at the inlet to the furnacefor introducing rubber tires thereto as the course of fuel. Immediatelyabove the furnace and disposed at a slight angle with respect thereto,is located another conveyor system 10 for introducing scrap vehicles 11into the vehicle recycling plant of the present invention; The conveyorsystem 10 is disposed in close proximity to the furnace so that the heatradiating from the furnace can be effectively utilized to burnundesirable materials and initiate the melting down process of saidscrap vehicles. Advantageously, the conveyor system and the vehiclesintroduced into the system above the furnace are housed in a duct 12 sothat the radiation heat which is conducted through the duct to the scrapvehicles is not lost to the environment. Although FIG. 1 shows thevehicles being conveyed on a conveyor 10 substantially parallel to thetop of the furnace, said conveyor can be slightly inclined toward thetop of the furnace.

The furnace is provided with a heated gas outlet 13 which communicateswith a cupola at approximately the position where the scrap vehicles areintroduced into said cupola. Accordingly, the scrap vehicles are firstexposed to a substantial amount of heat as they are conveyed above thefurnace and furthermore, the extremely high temperature gas which isexhausted from the furnace also contacts the vehicle as it is dischargedinto the cupola for purposes of being melted down to the basic metal.Because the heated gas exhausted from the furnace communicates with thecupola, said gas functions as one of the main heat sources for thecupola. However, since additional heat may frequently be needed tocomplete the melting down process, carbon electrodes 14 capable ofproducing, for example 3,200 KVA current are disposed in the cupola andare adapted to be lowered above the molten steel to completely convertit to a liquid phase. The carbon electrode heating source is capable ofincreasing the temperature in the cupola up to about 3,000 E. and evenhigher. The carbon electrodes are automatically adjustable in thevertical position so that a specific distance can be automaticallymaintained between the surface of the molten metal and the electrodes.Once the steel disposed in the cupola has been finished off, that is,completely converted to a molten stage, the carbon electrodes areautomatically withdrawn from the cupola. As will be noted in FIG. 1, thebottom of the cupola 15 is sloped to facilitate the removal of themolten steel therefrom. When the steel in the cupola has been completelyconverted to the molten state, said steel is removed from the cupolathrough an aperture 16 provided in the bottom of the cupola andintroduced into a holding tank 17 disposed upon a conveyor belt 18. Inthe holding tank, the molten steel separates into two levels, theheavier steel level 19 disposed in the bottom of the tank and thelighter slag level 20 disposed in a layer above said steel layer. Theholding tank is then conveyed to any desired location and after asuitable period of time when the slag has sufficiently separated fromthe steel, the steel is drained from the holding tank through anaperture provided therein and further processed in, for example, arolling mill to manufacture light structural materials, such as, forexample, reinforcing bars, fence posts, and the like. The remaining slagcontained in the holding tanks may be disposed of in any suitable manneras is well known in the art. As will be noted in the drawings, theholding tanks can be suitably attached to the conveying means so thatafter the contents contained therein has been discharged, the containerscan be returned to the cupola for reuse.

As will be noted, since the exhaust from the furnace communicates withthe cupola, the heat produced in said furnace as well as the heatproduced by the carbon electrodes combine to produce the molten slurryin the cupola. The heated gas from the furnace and the eupola iscontinuously removed from the system through a substantially horizontalflue 21 which contains a plurality of devices for making effective useof the amount of heat contained in the exhaust gas. For example, theflue 21 is provided with a number of smelters 22, 23 and 24 wherevarious component parts of the vehicle which were previously separatedfrom the vehicle shell can be melted down and made into suitableproducts. Of course, the products which require the greatest amount ofheat to melt them down are introduced into the smelter closest to thecupola. For example, in copper smelter 22, altemators, radiators,generators, starters, voltage regulators, and the like are introducedthereto. Another smelter (not shown) can be utilized to process themotor block of the vehicle. Thus, after the motor has been disassembledto remove the steel portions, the cast iron portions of the motor areintroduced 7 into a smelter where it is melted down for resale tofoundries. A zinc smelter 23 can be utilized for han dlingtransmissions, carburetors, and the like, and a glass smelter 24 can beutilized to melt down all of the glass contained in the vehicle. Thehorizontal flue stack 21 can be provided with other smelters as well asa number of other heat recovery elements such as, for example, elements25, 26 and 27 which can be used to produce steam for running generators,etc. Following the metal processing units and heat recovering unitsdisposed in the horizontal flue, the hot gas traveling through the fluemust be further cooled down and cleaned up before it is exhausted to theatmosphere. Accordingly, the flue 21 is provided with an enlargedsection 28 which is sufficiently large to provide a gap 29 between theinside diameter of said enlarged section and the outside diameter of theflue. Thus, cool ambient air is drawn into the system through this airgap 29. The enlarged section is also provided with a plurality of airvents 30 which are angled in the direction of the flow of the exhaustgas so that the air introduced therethrough thoroughly mixes with thehotter gas flowing therein thereby producing a uniformly cooler exhaustgas. Downstream of the air vents, the enlarged section of the horizontalstack is further provided with a plurality of spray nozzles 31 which areprovided for removing any existing contamination in the exhaust gas.Through the use of the vacuum produced by the pump 32 dis posed in theend of the horizontal flue, the gas is finally discharged to theatmosphere at a substantially reduced temperature and substantially freefrom contaimination.

In reviewing the overall system as described above, it is clear that thevehicle recycling plant of the present invention makes maximum use ofthe heat produced in the recycling plant for providing a number ofdifferent functions and through the effective use of said heat alsosubstantially converts all of the vehicle components into reusableproducts, including, for example, the use of tires as an inexpensivesource of fuel. Tires are particularly desirable because their sulfurcontent produces a very high temperature in the furnace.

The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same maybe varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as adeparture from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all suchmodifications are intended to be included within the scope of thefollowing claims.

I claim:

l. A vehicle recycling plant comprising a furnace, means for introducinga fuel into said furnace, a cupola disposed in close proximity to saidfurnace, and communicating therewith so that the hot gases dischargedfrom the furnace are introduced into the cupola, means for conveyingscrap vehicles above said fumace and into said cupola, substantiallyhorizontal flue means communicating with both the cupola and the furnacefor removing exhaust gases therefrom,.a plurality of smelters disposedin said horizontal flue for melting down various components previouslydisassembled from the vehicles, a plurality of heat exchange meansdisposed in said horizontal flue for removing heat therefrom andconverting it into various forms of energy, an enlarged horizontal flueportion disposed downstream of said heat exchange means, said enlargedflue portion containing a plurality of air vents for mixing ambient airwith the flue gas and a scrubbing section for removing particulatematerial from the flue gas, vacuum pump means for drawing the flue gasthrough the horizontal stack and exhaust means for discharging the fluegas to the atmosphere.

2. The vehicle recycling plant of claim 1, wherein the conveying meansfor conveying vehicles into the cu pola is in close proximity to the topof the furnace so that the heat radiating from the furnace burns uptheundesirable contaminates and initiates the melting down process of thevehicle bodies.

3. The vehicle recycling plant of claim 2 wherein the conveying meansfor conveying vehicles into the cumeans are provided for periodicallytapping the cupola to draw off the molten metal into holding tanksdisposed on conveying means.

7. The vehicle recycling plant of claim 1, wherein means are providedfor periodically tapping the cupola to draw off the molten metal intopig or billet forming molds.

8. The vehicle recycling plant of claim 1, wherein vi brating means areassociated with the base of the furnace, said vibrating meansfacilitating the separation of 1 various components of the ash.

9. The vehicle recycling plant of claim 1, wherein a copper smelter isdisposed in the horizontal flue, said. 1 copper smelter utilizing theheat of the flue gas to smelt copper-containing components of a vehiclepreviously disassembled from said vehicle.

10. The vehicle recycling plant of claim 1, wherein a I zinc smelter isdisposed in the horizontal flue downstream of the copper smelter, saidzinc smelter utilizing the heat of the flue gas to smelt zinc-containingcomponents of a vehicle previously disassembled from said vehicle.

11. The vehicle recycling plant of claim 1, wherein a glass smelter isdisposed in the horizontal flue downstream of the zinc smelter utilizingthe heat of the flue gas to smelt glass previously disassembled fromsaid vehicle.

12. The vehicle recycling plant of claim 1, wherein heat exchange meansare disposed in the horizontal flue for converting the heat disposedtherein into steam.

13. The vehicle recycling plant of claim 1, wherein the enlarged flueportion surrounds the smaller upstream flue portion defining an air gaptherebetween for the introduction of air thereinto.

14. The vehicle recycling plant of claim 1, wherein the air vents areangled in the same direction as the flow of flue gases through the flue.

L 15. The vehicle recycling plant of claim 1, wherein the vacuum pump isdisposed in the end of the flue.

16. The vehicle recycling plant of claim 1, wherein the vacuum pump isdisposed in the exhaust means.

1. A vehicle recycling plant comprising a furnace, means for introducinga fuel into said furnace, a cupola disposed in close proximity to saidfurnace, and communicating therewith so that the hot gases dischargedfrom the furnace are introduced into the cupola, means for conveyingscrap vehicles above said furnace and into said cupola, substantiallyhorizontal flue means communicating with both the cupola and the furnacefor removing exhaust gases therefrom, a plurality of smelters disposedin said horizontal flue for melting down various components previouslydisassembled from the vehicles, a plurality of heat exchange meansdisposed in said horizontal flue for removing heat therefrom andconverting it into various forms of energy, an enlarged horizontal flueportion disposed downstream of said heat exchange means, said enlargedflue portion containing a plurality of air vents for mixing ambient airwith the flue gas and a scrubbing section for removing particulatematerial from the flue gas, vacuum pump means for drawing the flue gasthrough the horizontal stack and exhaust means for discharging the fluegas to the atmosphere.
 2. The vehicle recycling plant of claim 1,wherein the conveying means for conveying vehicles into the cupola is inclose proximity to the top of the furnace so that the heat radiatingfrom the furnace burns up the undesirable contaminates and initiates themelting down process of the vehicle bodies.
 3. The vehicle recyclingplant of claim 2 wherein the conveying means for conveying vehicles intothe cupola is enclosed in a duct.
 4. The vehicle recycling plant ofclaim 1, wherein burner means are associated with the furnace.
 5. Thevehicle recycling plant of claim 1, wherein carbon electrodes areassociated with the cupola as a supplemental source of heat, saidelectrodes being movable in the vertical direction so that they can bebrought into close proximity with the surface of the molten metal. 6.The vehicle recycling plant of claim 1, wherein means are provided forperiodically tapping the cupola to draw off the molten metal intoholding tanks disposed on conveying means.
 7. The vehicle recyclingplant of claim 1, wherein means are provided for periodically tappingthe cupola to draw off the molten metal into pig or billet formingmolds.
 8. The vehicle recycling plant of claim 1, wherein vibratingmeans are associated with the base of the furnace, said vibrating meansfacilitating the separation of various components of the ash.
 9. Thevehicle recycling plant of claim 1, wherein a copper smelter is disposedin the horizontal flue, said copper smelter utilizing the heat of theflue gas to smelt copper-containing components of a vehicle previouslydisassembled from said vehicle.
 10. The vehicle recycling plant of claim1, wherein a zinc smelter is disposed in the horizontal flue dowNstreamof the copper smelter, said zinc smelter utilizing the heat of the fluegas to smelt zinc-containing components of a vehicle previouslydisassembled from said vehicle.
 11. The vehicle recycling plant of claim1, wherein a glass smelter is disposed in the horizontal flue downstreamof the zinc smelter utilizing the heat of the flue gas to smelt glasspreviously disassembled from said vehicle.
 12. The vehicle recyclingplant of claim 1, wherein heat exchange means are disposed in thehorizontal flue for converting the heat disposed therein into steam. 13.The vehicle recycling plant of claim 1, wherein the enlarged flueportion surrounds the smaller upstream flue portion defining an air gaptherebetween for the introduction of air thereinto.
 14. The vehiclerecycling plant of claim 1, wherein the air vents are angled in the samedirection as the flow of flue gases through the flue.
 15. The vehiclerecycling plant of claim 1, wherein the vacuum pump is disposed in theend of the flue.
 16. The vehicle recycling plant of claim 1, wherein thevacuum pump is disposed in the exhaust means.